Family Tree
by Silverwing013
Summary: After schoolwork is completed, all hosts gather to the club. Some arrive late from finishing schoolwork, such as Haruhi. Some arrive right on time, like the cousins and brothers. And others...others have time to spare while waiting for the other host member arrivals.


Silverwing013:  
To state the obvious, Ouran High School Host Club is not my own creation. This short piece on the other hand, is my own creation, which can only be due to the one who did create Ouran High School Host Club. Often, my short pieces like answering several questions and ideas I have inside my head, blending together. This piece is no exception. If Haruhi is late, what happens in the clubroom before her arrival? A notion of Kyoya secretly embracing the friendships formed, even if he rationalizes it to good business later. Tamaki's notions of family strengthened by all the club members. The possibilities of the twins forbidden act being...shared with a sister. How have they changed due to all their time together? And the limitless boundaries of buffer time, that highly inflammable spare time, where boredom strikes and what it may create...especially in Tamaki's case. The baffling notion of Tamaki being so high in class standings still needs further study though...

* * *

Understandably, Kyoya had been ignoring the flow of muttering going on beside him. He was aware of it though. It was more as though Kyoya was doing both. Being aware of the muttering and ignoring it all at once. Times like these had him realizing that Tamaki was a contradiction to him.

He found it best to be aware of Tamaki and at the same time, to ignore exactly what was going on.

In other words, at the moment, Tamaki was his background music.

Mostly, Tamaki needed no encouragement or aid. Although it still baffled Kyoya on how Tamaki did so well on homework considering Tamaki's…methods. Rubbing at his sore hand, Kyoya shifted priorities and attention onto checking business. It looked as though his father was still unaware of the growing—

Kyoya stilled in realization.

His former background music had vanished. Forgoing the previous dual awareness and ignoring of a certain blonde, Kyoya glanced up to check on the other. Like a music track that had ended. And Tamaki had shuffled to a different genre of music.

An expectant face peered at him, smiling easily.

"Yes Tamaki?"

Teeth flashed into a broad grin. "I finished it mother!"

Kyoya sighed and closed his laptop. Best to flow along with whatever song Tamaki was on now. It seemed the other had finished homework to move his attention elsewhere just as Kyoya had.

"Finished what, father?"

With that opening, Tamaki whipped out his side project in a grand flourish. Really, Tamaki could proclaim himself the father of their little group, but at the moment he acted far more like a child showing off for a—

Kyoya stilled again, realizing what he was looking at upon the large posterboard.

A family tree.

For all of Tamaki's names he insisted upon using for the Host Club members.

Figures.

"Very nice Tamaki," he praised dryly.

The blonde took no notice of Kyoya's tone. "I thought so too! I really wasn't sure about which side Honey and Mori would be on for uncles. It would mean they were made either your brothers or my brothers." Kyoya shifted at that, a brief image of the two cousins calling him by brother, before he shoved the imagination away. "In the end I went with my side since you already have two. And then I thought about adding Kasanoda under Mori with the training stuff they did and he's been visiting more. He's really been blossoming, hasn't he? That would have made him Haruhi's cousin, so they'd be okay getting along like they do."

Biting the inside of his lip, Kyoya managed to not laugh at Tamaki. It was not as though Kasanoda and Haruhi would actually be cousins. Tamaki's notions of family were ridiculous at times. He should really be pleased Kyoya had squashed out the notion the twins had a while back about adding their dear sister Haruhi into their forbidden love act.

"But then I would have to add in Renge and she doesn't really fit anywhere," Tamaki stated. "And then I kind of went overboard in drawing the tree around us, so I put her name on the wee little snake at the base of the tree. Kasanoda is the cat sitting on the branch above Mori. Nekozawa is the owl inside of the tree, away from the sunlight. Little Shiro is here too! He's the little mouse near my name on the branch. Then I have the regulars as the birds all around the tree and hopping about on the grass."

Very aware of how Tamaki went back to gazing at him expectantly, Kyoya praised the blonde again. "Very nice Tamaki."

Tamaki's notions of family were ridiculous at times. Kyoya was waiting for the day he realized romantic feelings for a member of his put together family. Or when his daughter Haruhi began actual dating. The day out with Hikaru had frazzled Tamaki enough. Even if it did yield interesting information on a weakness of Haruhi. Each member of the Host Club had taken to checking the weather forecasts just for her. They had no need previously as their concerns were fixed by having a servant fetch them out sunscreen or an umbrella wherever they were or doing.

He supposed the Host Club was fitting to Tamaki's family notions. They had begun to feel protective of each other, looking out for the others, taking their wants and needs into account, available for support in times of weakness rather than purposely cutting one another down… Kyoya had come to realize over the past year that it would be hard to graduate and not shake these…family notions away when they would meet again in the business world. Tamaki's past year idea of family had entered their mindsets, even though they were aware they were not related by blood. The previous year they had worked together, but not like this.

Kyoya actually looked forward to the future with these people in his lives. The way they could work together, without fearing family drama and business collaborations of backstabbing, it was proving liberating for him. He could trust these people.

"Milord!" The crashing of the door further announced the presence of the twins. Honey bounded in after them, laughing lightly as he greeted them. "Hey Tama-chan! Kyo-chan!"

Noting the posterboard Tamaki still held, the twins snatched it from the blonde and held it up high to look at for themselves. Honey leapt over to see himself.

"You're taking this family thing too far boss."

"Look, he even added Renge in here."

"Oooh! And Bossa Nova too!"

"Look! Shiro is in here!"

"Upstaging milord as usual or should we say…"

"Upbranching," they both chimed in loudly full of laughter.

"He is not," Tamaki denied loudly and vehemently. "Respect your family tree you little devious brothers! You're on that too with my precious daughter Haruhi. Behave yourselves."

"Oh! Reiko is on there too! She's the little bunny hiding behind one of the roots Takashi," Honey pointed out brightly. Kyoya glanced back over to the paper, startled to find he had missed that one and that Tamaki had made her a bunny rather than a bird like the other regulars.

"Mitsukuni," Mori said simply. The taller of the cousins lifted a hand to point at their branch and dragged it across. From Mori, to Honey, to Tamaki.

"Oh! Tamaki is our brother Takashi." Honey beamed at this. Kyoya added to himself, glad they weren't on his side, little brother. There was no question on what order they would be. The cousins were bound to be older brothers to Tamaki. Although, given the shift of this school year, they had already stepped up as protective and protecting the rest of the members.

One of the twins snickered, the other quick to follow. Hikaru, then Karou Kyoya deduced. With Haruhi so able to tell them apart, Kyoya had been able to sort certain characteristics to one name over the other. Before, there had always been a bit of question as to which was which or if they had switched it around on him. It was odd to see the separation between the two, they more inclined not to play each other when it was with Haruhi and then slowly including the rest of the Host Club, as though they realized the others were picking up on them and neither minded overly much.

Kyoya's eyes flicked down to where both were looking and felt a smile touch his lips. Tamaki, when writing the names on the tree, had not had enough room to list the children in a straight line.

"Whoa. Milord believes our toy is secretly assertive."

"Hahuh?" Tamaki blinked rapidly in confusion. "What are you horrible brothers saying about your sister?"

The one rolled up his eyes and shook his head with a small smile. "Haruhi is not our sister."

"Motheeer!" Tamaki spun and grabbed a hold of Kyoya, yanking at him and whining.

"Yes father?"

"Tell them…tell them…" The blonde faltered, searching for the right words and right request.

"Haruhi is on top. Who knew?" The twins rose up their arms in mock question and grinned widely.

Clearly, Tamaki failed to understand. Kyoya felt his lip twitch up as he watched the blonde frown in confusion, waiting for when he did grasp what the twins referred to. Somehow managing to get out a piece of cake at some point, Honey was happily eating his cake. Secretly, Kyoya thought Honey was anticipating the reaction as well, possibly amused. Mori seemed too old fashioned in his manner to be amused off of the allusion to such things. Yet, he also seemed aware of this sort of allusion, with how his eyes watched. Kyoya was of the notion Mori enjoyed the reactions as well, but it was divided with worry on if it one day went too far.

As for Tamaki's reaction…

…it exceeded expectations.

* * *

Silverwing013:  
Any takers to write what Haruhi walks into when she finally arrives?  
Of course, things like these must explain why she tends to ignore the other hosts at times...


End file.
